by Rae Hilhorst

Melbourne my lovely Melbourne

So we left Auckland for Melbourne, which is fast becoming a home away from home. Once again we had accommodation issues, clearly we are just too fussy. But we stayed at our usual Punt Hill Apartments in Flinders Lane, right in the mix of the laneways. It was like midnight when we arrived, oh joy, what the hell were we thinking. I know clearly we weren’t, as I said this has consequences towards the end. We are all a little bit shattered by now, I have evidence of bags under my eyes. This is our third flight in 8 days.

Once again we are confronted by new hotel staff, (who at this stage are reminding me of Fawlty Towers, remember them) I think there is industry trouble here, or maybe brand trouble, haven’t quite figured it out. This is a 5-story boutique short stay accommodation.

Best spot, walk outside the main entrance and you are smack bang in the middle of the lanes. Brittany and I take turns in grabbing the morning coffee, haven’t done it yet in our dressing gowns, as tempting as that seems, one has standards. One year when Brittany and I were here it was football fever and we had a street-facing apartment on the third floor.

I still have vivid memories of me holding onto her lower body as she was playing football (with her hands not her feet) through the open window with a few Greek boys who were trying to entice her down. Yes champagne was involved, thankfully we survived to play another day, and hence this is where I got my nickname Rae Rae.

As these boys were trying to get Brittany to come down and go out with them she told them in her cutest voice, ‘My mother won’t let me’. A cop out don’t you think? They asked what my name was ‘Rae’ says Brittany, they then started chanting ‘Rae Rae come out and play’. Oh the shame.

Any way back to this not so fabulous used to be fabulous and will once again rise to be fabulous accommodation:

They put us in a very noisy apartment on the 3rd floor

We could hear the bloke next door coughing all night

The bathroom basin had a very large crack through it

So the next morning I marched downstairs and standing very tall in my most commanding don’t mess with me voice, stated to the Fawlty Towers People that:

·

·Considering the price we were paying I think they could do better, I am such a mole.

·Yes we got shifted to the 5th floor way better noise wise

·A load of apologies and promises that in three weeks time

·The whole complex was getting an overhaul

·That they realised that wouldn’t help me at the moment and were sorry

I find Melbourne is a place to play, probably because I know the city so well, know what to avoid and where to play.

Just outside Flinders Station

So we marched ourselves around that city at a furious pace. Caught the trams anywhere and everywhere.

Too easy xxx

This is what one of the Lane’s looks like at the end of the day/evening, when they have packed up.

This is the buzz, pokey restaurants all the way up and down, plus seating down the full length of the middle of the lane. Would this work in your town?We here in Perth are still struggling to have enough people live in the city to make it viable, plus we are still to expensive.

More soon, time to take myself of to something physical, it’s bloody freezing today and the more I sit and type the colder I get. gotta move.